The Midnight Rose
by Altheryon
Summary: "She was a beautiful woman in her simplicity; intelligent, kind, and just, wiser than any other person of her time, and even if centuries pass, he would never meet someone like her again." Side story to It's Never Late for Forgiveness.


_Greetings! It's been a while, hope to find you well!_

 _In Dark Remembrances, my last piece, I mentioned about a project to write a Soma/Mathias and Lisa romance in modern times, however, unfortunately I could not find the time I wished to write a multichapter story like I originally intended, so I decided to present to you all this small piece, for people who would like to see some romance about this couple. I already have on my mind the full plot of this multichapter story, so, maybe one day I will manage to put it all down on paper._

The Midnight Rose _is an oneshot set as a side story to my previous project, It's Never Late for Forgiveness and Iris of Blue, Green and Gold. It may be read as a standard piece alone, but there are some elements taken from my other stories. And even though the phrase bellow from Bram Stoker's Dracula being originally said by Doctor Van Helsing to Mina Harker in the book, I thought it very fitting to this story._

 _If you haven't read any of my other projects of this collection and would like to read them, the chronological order is:_

 _1- It's Never Late for Forgiveness_

 _2- Sunt Aici_

 _3- Iris of Blue, Green and Gold_

 _4- The Midnight Rose._

 _Like always, I hope you enjoy!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lyon Heitor ~ Altheryon_

 **The Midnight Rose**

...

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."

Bram Stoker's Dracula

†

 _After the herald announced their arrival, the two knights entered the hall, immediately attracting everyone's attention who applauded in honor of their presence. Leon Belmont smiled triumphantly, his blue eyes shining in contentment with the warm welcome from the other nobles._

 _The fame of their achievements in the war, protecting the lands of the numerous families at the event_ _from their enemies and even the most recent victory that he and his army had conquered, was a source of great pride and allowed the Baron, even at such a young age, win great admiration and respect, and the blond-haired man smiled and nodded politely in a simple gesture of gratitude._

 _His best friend, however, remained sober and unchanged before the court; with his long black hair falling over the dark cloak that partially enveloped his armor and ice blue eyes watching calculatingly the enviroment, Mathias Cronqvist merely nodded his head in acknowledgment of the gesture from other nobles; as soon as the conversations returned and the music was played again in the hall, the blond-haired knight looked at him with amusement._

 _"What kind of face is that, my friend? Aren't you happy to come home and finally be properly recognized for our deeds?"_

 _"I am pleased to be back, however, I do not like the obligation of this party in commemoration of 'The glorious return of our heroes.'"_

 _The long-haired knight replied in a low voice only for his friend to hear; there was a tone of irony in his words though the nobleman held a polite smile on his lips._

 _"You'll still have a lot to discover about them, Leon. Not long ago they scorned the progress of our campaign only to brag today about the misfortune of anothers by the conquering as if it were they who accomplished it. I'm dispensing their hypocrisy."_

 _Unimpressed by his friend's words, the Baron simply raised an eyebrow and inquired._

 _"What will you do, Mathias?"_

 _"Let you deal, at least this time, with the bureaucratic tactic of socialization..." The black-haired knight responded while noticing that some nobles were beginning to approach them. "... while I will try to appreciate the only thing that attracts me in this event, the music, from somewhere where I can enjoy it without being disturbed."_

 _Mathias tapped his friend's shoulder and before the other knight could reply, the man had quickly disapeared into the_ _crowd_ _._

 _The long-haired knight passed by the table served to the guests and took for himself a goblet of red wine. The nobleman moved away from the main wing, diverting from the other guests to reach the exit door to the outer garden._

 _The late-afternoon breeze drifted warm and serene through the trees, carrying with it the sound of the music played by the musicians inside the building, and feeling more at ease and finally alone for the first time since arriving with the army in the city, he sighed deeply, and absorbed in his thoughts, he lifted the goblet to his lips to take a sip from the wine._

 _Suddenly he heard the sound of hurried footsteps, and the man barely had time to turn around when, startled, he felt someone crash into him. The goblet slipped out of his hands as he swayed; the wine stained the his robes and armor while the object fell to the ground and broke into several pieces. Quickly he found support against a nearby tree and his trained reflexes allowed him to hold the woman's arm before she fell._

 _After completely regained their balance, they stared at each other and the man observed the young lady's face in wonder._

 _She was a beautiful woman with a delicate countenance, blue eyes that seemed to glow like the vast morning sky, skin white as snow and long golden hair that plummeted like a rippled cascade near her waist; by her long dress of white and gold linen, filled with rich details in its sewing and with small precious stones, he could claim that she was the daughter of one of the noble families invited to the celebration, and she, as if suddenly awakened from a deep torpor, turned her attention away from his face to stare at his armor and clothing soiled with wine and her entire face flushed red._

 _"Per-Pardon, my lord... I..." She stammered trembling, her blue eyes filled with dread. She raised her hands and touched his armor and made mention of wiping it with the sleeves of her dress, but he stopped her, gently holding both of her hands._

 _"No... It's just wine; you will not soil your hands with something so insignificant." He managed softly, and noticing the fallen white rose at his feet, he bent down and picked the flower, handing it to the lady. "I believe this belongs to you. This, on the contrary, you must dedicate your attention so that through your care its perfect petals will not be tainted by the fall."_

 _"T-Thank you." She thanked him timidly, accepting the rose back; the nobleman, still holding one of her hands, observed her intently._

 _"May I know my lady's name?" He inquired._

 _"Elisabetha..." The woman answered in a weak whisper, still dazed, and the knight, with a smile of amusement on his lips, kissed the back of her hand._

 _..._

 _"There seems to be something on your mind." The vampire commented casually, watching his guest absentmindedly walk down the hallways of the castle._

 _"I wonder..." Lisa whispered, stopping in front of a small balcony to admire the night sky that expanded over Transylvania in a beautiful starry cloak. "When I was a child the elders of the village told stories about how God created the universe, the moon and the stars, and how His power is absolute, but I wonder... There is also a science able to explain what they are, why they are there and if there are other places like this one? Like our world?"_

 _The black-haired man stopped next to her and rested his hands on the balcony. Likewise he observed the night sky with a contemplative countenance._

 _"For many centuries scholars from other countries have conducted research and studies to seek unravel the mysteries hidden in the midst of the vast universe that surrounds us, my dear Lisa, and many years will pass and still mankind will not be able to discover everything there is to know about the universe. " Mathias smiled. "Elsewhere in Europe, a long time ago, the first milestones of this type of study became significant in a country called Greece, and they called this science by the name of Astrology, the study of the stars."_

 _The vampire then laughed lightly._

 _"Although initially the view they had about Astrology was very different from what your church today proclaims."_

 _"How so?" The young woman inquired, watching him with blue eyes full of questions and curiosity._

 _"Their culture was based on a polytheistic view, for they it did not exist a single God, but several that were placed in a hierarchical class. The stars, for example, formed drawings that told great stories about these gods or about heroes and their memorable deeds , and in their studies they separated these stars into small groups called constellations that governed a great part of the knowledge that was considered essential to the great sages of their time."_

 _The long-haired woman listened to everything, fascinated by his words and the new knowledge the man shared with her, and Lisa, delighted, looked back at the starry sky._

 _"And how could they draw images between the stars and memorize them?" She asked in wonder. "There are so many of them that it is impossible to count! There must be thousands, capable of filling the whole sky!"_

 _The vampire nodded his head in agreement, amused._

 _"Certainly there is, but perhaps for them it was not so difficult after having spent so many years of their lives studying this science."_

 _Lisa smiled and her face brightened radiantly. Shaking her head, laughing lightly, she whispered to him in a wistful way._

 _"Before those stories, I looked up at the sky and believed that the stars were bright and good fairies that every night would leave their home, the moon, to take care of us and protect everyone from evil..." She looked into his golden eyes and laid her hand above his on the balcony. "Thank you, Mathias."_

 _The Lord of Castlevania nodded his head in acknowledgment and as he stared briefly at the delicate hand that held his, the black-haired man turned to look back again at the sky with a small smile on his lips._

 _"Maybe, Lisa... I may also prefer your first view of the meaning of the sky, the moon, and the stars..."_

 _The woman laughed lightly._

...

 _Walking slowly down the long corridors of his castle, the Lord of Castlevania led the woman by the arm until it ended in a stone arch, and as they entered the vast hall, the young lady was marveled by the beautiful scenery she glimpsed before her eyes._

 _The place was broad in oval formation, with giant stone columns that had carvings drawn on its surface and small precious stones, which on the edges of the hall, near the walls, rose high against the vaulted glass ceiling that showed the beauty of the night in its advanced hour._

 _The walls themselves had some landscaped pictures and long curtains of deep red color as decoration, for the room was completely devoid of furniture, possessing only a few statues of winged beings, whose wings spread out, were scattered about the place like silent guardians._

 _The center of the hall consisted of a mirrored marble floor that reflected the surface of the firelight from several torches scattered around the place, and the lighting was strong and pleasant; it seemed that the marble floor was a pure ocean of gold which covered the full extent of the scenario. A beautiful, soft music echoed neatly with violins and pianos that the woman could not find with her eyes so that they seemed to be produced of the magic that filled the castle._

 _"This place... it's beautiful," Lisa whispered in delight, distancing herself from the man to walk slowly to the center of the room, watching everything with curiosity._

 _"How so…?" The vampire inquired with a smile of amusement, approaching her. "I have not shown you yet what I've brought you here to see."_

 _The golden-haired woman stared at him in confusion._

 _"Mathias ...?"_

 _The lord of Castlevania raised his face to look at the vaulted glass ceiling above the hall, and realizing that the full moon was showing itself entirely, flaunting majestically in the sky over the castle at exactly midnight, he lifted one of his arms and clenched his fist in front of him, and suddenly spreading it to his side in a rapid movement, all the torches of the hall immediately went out under his command, plunging the scene into partial darkness._

 _Lisa cannot contain her exclamation of admiration and surprise._

 _The moon's light penetrated the glass ceiling gracefully, and it touched the marble floor, making it glow softly; such clarity was projected on the scattered columns around the hall and it touched the carvings, causing the little precious stones to gleam subtly, and the scenery inside the castle seemed to merge with the sky above them beyond the glass ceiling. It was as if they were both surrounded by thousands of bright and shining stars in the vast and infinite universe._

 _The woman silently admired that magical and unique setting, feeling herself deeply moved._

 _Mathias watched her; her beautiful face was subtly caressed by the touch of the moon; her blue eyes seemed to shine with the same intensity of the precious stones that surrounded them and a genuine smile graced her lips. Her long blond hair fell loose halfway down her back over the simple, humble dress she'd chosen earlier in her little house on the village before they came to the castle._

 _She was a beautiful woman in her simplicity; intelligent, kind, and just, wiser than any other person of her time, and even if centuries pass, he would never meet someone like her again._

 _The man approached Lisa and she stared at him with a gentle smile in her lips. Mathias bent briefly in a polite greeting and took her right hand, kissed the back of her palm subtly, and his touch on her skin made her shudder involuntarily._

 _The vampire moved a step closer until their bodies touched lightly and he wrapped one arm around her waist, and still gently holding her hand, slowly the man began to lead her through the hall in a pleasant dance that harmoniously followed the rhythm of the soft instrumental song that filled the atmosphere, and the couple slid as one in the middle of the ocean of stars that surrounded them._

...

 _The snowstorm came down hard and devastated the region mercilessly. The biting wind penetrated the structure that formed the humble wooden house, and although it provided shelter against the great volume of snow, it wasn't able to totally block the intense cold and the internal temperature almost resembled that of the external environment._

 _Wearing only a long-sleeved shirt, dark trousers and a pair of boots, the vampire frowned, staring hard at the great shimmering mountain of blankets around Lisa, cursing himself for not taking her to the Castle earlier that day as it had been his initial intention._

 _With his power he had set fire to the small fireplace in the house, but the damp woods due to the cold couldn't produce enough heat to the whole environment, and from the covers he could only see the woman's face, with her cheeks and the tip of her nose lightly stained by the cold. She stared at him._

 _"How can it be possible for you not to be disturbed by this cold?" The woman inquired incredulously, her voice shuddering slightly._

 _"I just do not feel it the way humans do." The vampire replied thoughtfully. "The sensation of cold and heat is not so significant to my skin now; I can feel the wind beating against my face as a subtly palpable substance because of its strength, but the temperature itself no longer affects me, and for a long time I have stopped caring about it."_

 _Lisa watched him with curiously in her blue eyes._

 _"You cannot feel warmth?" She repeated slowly and the man shrugged._

 _They both stared at each other for a long time until the woman shook her head and a small smile appeared on her lips._

 _"Mathias... Come here."_

 _The man arched an eyebrow in silent questioning but didn't deny the woman's request and approached the hay couch where she was sitting. When he was near_ _enough_ _, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, and as he too sat on the couch, the woman threw the covers around his shoulders and nestled herself in his lap, covering both of them against the cold._

 _"L-Lisa...?" The Vampire questioned in disbelief. "What are you doing?"_

 _"Warming us both." The woman responded cheerfully, laying her head against his chest, she embraced him. "Besides, you are more solid against the wind than the walls of this house."_

 _Mathias did nothing at first, but then slowly his arms circled the young lady's small form, embracing her against him and she breathed deeply in contentedly, feeling better than before. He leaned back against the couch, and stroking her long blond hair, he thought he might have felt a small source of warmth then, not in his skin, but in his heart that he had, for a long time, believed it was dead._

...

 _"What do you mean you_ do not _know what happened?!" The woman spoke first incredulously, and then her voice began to rise with traces of fury. "You are the lord of this castle! How can you know anything that one of your servants does out of your orders, but cannot know anything about of_ this _?!"_

 _Lisa lifted what was left of a plant near her husband's face, who merely observed her nonchalantly._

 _"As you said my dear, I am the lord of this castle. If any servant acts out of my orders I am alerted immediately, for all report to me." The vampire explained patiently. "Now, I do not have the power to be everywhere in Castlevania at the same time to know_ how exactly _that pot broke, Lisa; we have more than five hundred rooms here."_

 _That answer didn't necessarily calm her; it did the opposite._

 _"Do you know how long I took to get it to grow?!" The woman went on irritably. "I had to move it of place more than ten times until I found the best position it liked! I took care of it every day! I watered it early in the morning, checked if there were no snails to eat the leaves... "_

 _The vampire put his head in his hands._

 _"... And I even changed the vase so that the root could expand more comfortably, because that other crap just did not work!"_

 _"Lisa..." Mathias began, but was completely cut off._

 _"Did you know it was about to give a flower?!" The woman shouted possessed, and her voice echoed rumbling through the Throne Room._

 _The few servants who stood in the room looked at each other fearfully and discreetly one by one began to leave by the door as fast as they could; next to them a little boy of four years of age escaped hastily out of the room before the storm that hung on his parents also turned towards him._

 _"It's a beautiful flower that gives only once a year!" Lisa shouted angrily. "Do you know what it's like to have to wait a whole year to see the flower bloom?_ A whole year _?!"_

 _"My dear, I'm sure ..."_

 _"Sure of nothing!" She cut him like a razor blade and with a certain irony. "After all, is not what you said before, that you do not know anything?! Of course for you a year doesn't mean anything!"_

 _He glared at her, but breathing deeply, Mathias rose from the throne._

 _"Lisa, I will not argue with you over a mere dead plant."_

 _The blond-haired woman glared back, looking at him as if he had said a serious offense, and the vampire, scolding himself internally, recognized_ that look _on his wife's face and prepared for what he knew was to come._

 _"Mere dead plant?" Lisa repeated slowly with acidity. "This_ mere dead plant _I brought from my house in the village and I had it for_ years _!"_

 _Shouting, the woman threw angrily what was left of the said plant towards her husband, who dodged it easily and looked at his wife in indignation. She put her hands on her hips._

 _"I do not want to know_ how _, you'll find another that looks just like it!"_

 _"Me?" The man repeated incredulously. "You have more than one thousand kinds of plants! I do not even have the faintest idea what this thing was in the first place!"_

 _Lisa at that moment looked murderous._

 _"It was_ that _plant," she answered tartly. "Didn't you pay attention to what I told you about it that day, when you returned to the village after we met? Or was your head so busy at the time with the other women in the village to listen to what I was telling you?!"_

 _"_ What _?!" The vampire inquired raged; his golden eyes flashed dangerously. "I never did such a thing!"_

" _Do you think I did not see you looking at Emily's breasts that day?" The woman accused, pointing her finger at him._

 _"I was looking at the roses she held in her arms! I was choosing the most perfect gift to give you, I wanted to please you!" Mathias exclaimed indignantly, shaking his head. "And what does it matter now? We're not we talking about your broken pot?"_

 _"Ah!" The woman opened her arms. "You don't remember the name of the_ mere dead plant _, but about Emily you_ remember well _!"_

 _The black-haired man held himself, feeling the blood boil in his veins, his eyes gleaming with partially restrained fury, he forcedly interjected._

 _"I'm not going to keep with this, Lisa."_

 _"Of course you will not, after all, you don't know anything at all!" His wife snapped back and the vampire began to silently count from zero to one hundred to not to say out loud the rapid response that sprouted on his tongue. "I don't want to know how, you'll find another plant just like it; and when you do, try to bring one that already has a flower!"_

 _Stepping hard, Lisa turned her back on him and marched through the hall, crossing the room and left, slamming the door behind her and Mathias winced. Falling on the throne and running his hands over his face, the man felt his fury slowly start to mitigate and sighing heavily, he made a mental note to himself to talk to his little son to not play again in his mother's gardens._

...

 _Standing on the balcony of one of the upper areas of the castle, Lisa sighed in contentment as she stared at the horizon; the sun, like a giant golden globe, lay slowly behind the lofty peaks of the mountains and its light spread over the sky into a divine orange painting, which rose higher into darker shades until it changed into navy blue and gradually grew darker as the minutes went by slowly. A few stars began to shyly reveal their brilliance, gleaming softly on the black cloak._

 _The golden glow touched subtly the her pale face that radiated great joviality; she wore a modest rose-colored dress that perfectly clad the beautiful curves of her body; her long golden hair was bound by a white ribbon on her back as her eyes seemed to shine as she glimpsed the beautiful scenery._

 _The vampire approached the woman and embracing her from behind, the young lady smiled lightly and snuggled against his chest._

 _"I would never tire of observing such a beautiful phenomenon from the castle... Watching it here, from this place, seems to make it even more magical... It's wonderful."_

 _"You may watch it here whenever you wish, Lisa." The dark-haired man told her softly, and his voice held a significant tone that wasn't unnoticed by the woman._

 _She turned partially to look at his golden eyes and the vampire took one of her hands, placing a kiss between her fingers._

 _"Stay with me," Mathias asked, staring at her intently._

 _It was a simple request but at the same time also very significant for her; it meant leaving behind all the life she had built for herself, it was not much, but she had worked hard to get the little she had; it meant leaving the solid ground known to plunge into that magical and supernatural world she had discovered._

 _A world that gradually was dominating her soul, a request to leave the comfort of the sun to surrender in the arms of darkness through a man so mysterious and charming, that in addition to having the strange sensation of already know him to for a long time, also gave her a love so deep and overpowering that could take away her heart as she had never felt it before._

 _Lisa took his hand, caressing his fingers with a faint smile on her face._

 _"When I was a little girl I used to imagine what it would be like to meet the man who would become my husband, how we would fall in love and what our marriage would be like in the village's church with the blessing of God on our love... Never would I have thought that life would hold a future so different from the one which I dreamed as a child."_

 _The vampire frowned. Turning his face away to watch the sunset with grave countenance, he replied in a calm voice, although his discomfort was evident._

 _"Forgive me, my dear... I could never give you the marriage of your dreams. Being who I am and having no belief in the designs of your God, I can only offer the love I have for you in hope that you may accept it."_

 _Lisa regarded him tenderly, the serenity never leaving her countenance, and touching his face with one hand she gently made him look back at her again._

 _"Mathias... It is natural that we, as children wrapped in the veil of innocence, have dreams very different from the reality that life presents us as adults. This change, however, doesn't mean that today is not welcome or less special to me, and even if you do not believe, we are both blessed because we have found each other."_

 _Wrapping her arms around his waist, Lisa embraced him affectionately; she hoped that with time one day she could change her beloved's heart regarding his disbelief in God and humanity._

 _"I love you, Mathias, just as you are, and the only difference I see in you compared to other men is your heart, pure and beautiful, that so dedicatedly you offer it to me."_

 _"It always belonged to you." The vampire told her softly, even though she couldn't fully understand the meaning of his words, but touched by them; Lisa beamed and caressed his face._

 _"I have nothing to offer you, Mathias, besides my heart and this feeling that I have for you."_

 _Lisa lifted a hand to her hair and untied the modest white ribbon made of cloth, and the long, bulky strands fell loosely down her back. The young lady parted the ribbon in half and holding the vampire's left hand she tied it on his ring finger so that it resembled the form of a wedding brand._

 _"This love that unites us is the most precious good that I keep in my heart, because it's true and more solid and tangible than anything else in this world; and I need nothing more to be happy than this."_

 _Holding her hand lovingly, the black-haired man smiled softly; the simplicity and purity in the woman's gestures and words impressed him, as well as the strength within her, blended with unmatched wisdom and charm._

 _Leaning down he tenderly kissed her, then he took her left hand and the other half of the ribbon and repeated the gesture, tying it to her ring finger, and observing their joined hands, fingers interlaced, the man thought he had never received before a gift so humble and at the same time so beautiful and meaningful._

...

 _The steady rain fell like a light grayish layer over the village, and farther away, in a humble hovel near the edge of the forest, the breeze hit against the wooden walls and the roof of straw and hay subtly, almost imperceptible._

 _Inside, the man and the woman stared at each other in silence; the intense glances seemed to seek the other's soul in the half light of a single candle arranged on a small table, and their blue and gold iris glittered with a strong and significant brightness. In that complete absence of words, nothing was needed to be said, for they fully understood the other's heart in truths that no longer could be denied..._

 _Slowly Mathias approached her and gently took one of the young lady's hands, interlacing their fingers in a subtle and faint caress, listening sharply to her heart beating fast and uneven. Lisa watched him without ever diverting her attention; she raised her hand and touched the vampire's pale face, his black hair and slight beard, and taking a step forward, she felt his arm surround her waist firmly._

 _The man bent and pressed his lips to hers in a slow, deep kiss; the woman surrendered, embracing him to herself, and he held her against his body and sat down on the humble couch of straw, pulling her to sit on his lap._

 _They kissed for a long time until they finally parted and she pressed her forehead to his, gazing at him affectionately. Mathias stroked her long, beautiful golden hair until his hands found the bundle of the dress she wore, and after a gentle kiss of consent she placed on his eyebrow, the vampire began to untie each one of the buttons until the fabric opened in full, and it slid across her bare shoulders until it fell completely forgotten on the ground._

 _Mathias admired her beauty, his golden eyes glowing gently; tenderly, kindly he slid his hands down the woman's soft skin and she shuddered at his touch. Timidly Lisa also unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his sturdy chest, and he helped her completely remove the piece, discarding it on the floor._

 _They observed each other in love for a brief moment and then their lips joined again; the couple embraced, deepening the kiss; the golden, subtle light of the candle touched their skin as their caresses became stronger and fiery, seeking each other with passion._

 _The vampire pulled her down and they lay on the humble couch, his body covered hers with stiffness and desire and the woman moaned softly, arching against his touch. Immersed in the feeling that enveloped them, their bodies become completely united and surrendered to one another, and for a long time they loved each other with fervor and passion until their bodies, covered with sweat and weariness, yielded to each other's arms intertwined in a tender embrace._

 _Lisa watched the dark-haired man, her blue-eyed eyes glowing softly with love and contentment, finding similar expression on the vampire's countenance, who caressed the woman's face affectionately. Mathias allowed a faint smile to appear on his lips, sincere and genuine, for he felt, for the first time in long centuries, finally whole again._

...

As soon as the car stopped near the edge of the forest, parked next to a cluster of tall, broad trees of thick foliage, the four occupants left the vehicle to visit the new scenery.

The silver-haired man, dressed in an elegant black suit, walked forward alone, moving away from his companions, walking slowly through the green and fresh grass that scattered across the vast meadow. How many centuries had passed since the last time he had come to that place? He could lie to himself by saying he couldn't calculate for certain or remember completely, but the truth was that he could tell the exact amount of years, months, days and hours since that fateful moment of his past, for it was deeply marked in his soul and memories in such way that nothing would be able to erase.

Yes… It had happened a long time ago... And he had never returned again after _that_ day.

Before him now was a vast field full of pasture and devoid of trees, with some large moss-covered rocks scattered at various points and wrecks of old buildings that had collapsed in the past. Life was overflowing with abundance, birds flew and swirled in the pure air of pleasant breeze as they sang and some wild animals grazed ahead as they watched the strangers who had so suddenly dared to violate the serenity of that place with their presence.

Nature itself seemed to have over time tried to heal the terrible wounds that had been inflicted there, allowing the whole region to erase almost any landmark from the past.

As he walked along the same path he had taken that day, his memories brought to light every detail of the old small city that once existed in that place, and Soma saw the village with its few stone buildings and houses of wood built in rows side by side, carts and saddled trailers in every corner, personal objects and utensils thrown in the dirt streets, baskets, crates, and cargo sacks abandoned by the way, all covered by thick layer of snow from the storm that plagued the region. The gray sky grew darker as the hour advanced and a long column of dense black smoke cut the air into the sky until it blended with the winter clouds.

Soma closed his eyes continuing the path without looking where he was going. He took a deep breath, as if with that gesture he could deflate the sudden weight in his heart, and finally stopping after several steps, when he opened his eyelids his golden eyes no longer saw the village or any trace of it, just the vast meadow with the few remains of those old buildings.

Remains that he himself, with his own hands, had caused by destroying the village without any hesitation.

Soma looked on to a furthest point on the field and saw Adrian and Maria walking arm in arm as they talked quietly between them; the countenance on his son's face, despite the place where they were now, was serene and it seemed that he had somehow managed to find balance and peace with the marks and sad memories that the past had left him. Something the vampire had yet to be able to find inside himself.

The silver-haired man noticed next to him a singular rise of moss-covered stone and grass, and when he paid more attention Soma recognized it immediately. In his memory he saw a flicker of flames, a wooden cross and the strong smell of burnt and ashes that made him retreat a few steps and exhale a choked breath.

He put a hand to his face, trembling, and a voice called him softly.

"Are you alright?"

Shaking his head, the vampire partially composed himself and spoke with a certain veiled tone of distaste that didn't go unnoticed by the young lady at his side.

"I do not know why you insisted to come here... Actually, I do not know why I agreed with it in the first place."

She laughed lightly, not at all impressed by his displeasure.

"Sometimes the only way we may completely overcome a bad occasion within ourselves is to go back to the place where it happened to face our own past."

Passing past him, the woman stared briefly at the rise of stone and then sat upon it, not caring to soak the white cloth of her dress, and watched the vampire with a soft look in her blue eyes.

"You have done everything in these recent years to help humanity through the shadows to compensate for the lives that have been lost in this place... You regret bitterly what has happened and this still weighs on your soul and your memories. I can see through your eyes every moment that you think to be alone meditating on the past and even now, here, in this place, I can see it as clearly as the crystal clear waters of a river."

Soma turned his face away to look at the meadow with a grave countenance, and she proceeded gently.

"I insisted on coming back to this place so we could talk. Whenever I tried to speak about it with you before, you've always found a way to avoid it... But this is something we cannot put off any longer, and you know it, Soma... You must allow this weight that torments you inwardly to leave you and finally free your heart; so that together, both of us may completely close this chapter of our past and thus we may restart our history, without the shadows from that time continuing to present itself as a hindrance to our happiness."

The woman was silent for a moment, allowing her words and her gentle voice to soothe the man. She stared at the field, her blue eyes filled with great serenity, and when she thought it was the best moment, she inquired.

"So... would you like to talk?"

Frowning, he remained silent for a long time and the woman waited patiently until the vampire's voice slowly manifested itself.

"The world is made up of failures and mistakes... We often commit them intentionally while seeking justification to support decisions made."

His golden eyes gazed at her intently.

"Hatred breeds hatred, rage to blood, fear, pain and revolt lead to revenge, and all are ways that ultimately lead to death. I, more than anyone else, should know this, for I sowed my ways in darkness from the beginning of everything, more than a millennium ago... It would be naive of me to believe that one day it would not charge me its price later."

The vampire smiled with some irony.

"What happened here... I had knowledge of the retrograde mind of society from that time... The enlightenment about science and the evolution of thought to question things that make up our world was not well seen, and just a few people dared to defy the common laws imposed by kingdoms and churches to seek true knowledge."

At this moment the man's face had softened and his eyes were lost in memories.

"I could say that I did what I did because I was right. Say that it was my right to take revenge; they had murdered my wife and almost killed my son, but no... They were in their limited wrong view and I, by allowing myself to be overcome by hatred and thirst for blood and vengeance, closed my eyes to the enlightenment and knowledge to reduce myself to the same level of their ignorance. I destroyed not only the lives of the ones who actually were to blame for my wife's death, but also other lives that had no other guilt than to blindly follow the beliefs of others."

"It took me a long time to start thinking about moving on... Centuries of endless resurrections and repetitions of mistakes and another reincarnation to begin to understand those last words, for hatred breeds hatred in a vicious circle and I was completely immersed in it..." The vampire looked beyond the field and watched the couple walking away together, giving them privacy to talk. "Adrian helped me a lot… In those dark years and even now after I completely recovered my memories; his stubbornness didn't let him give me up... And I'm grateful he didn't."

The lady also watched the couple, and there was a soft, loving smile on her lips.

"I believe..." he continued softly. "That what I've been doing has helped me to live without the weight of those lives distressing me terribly every time I allow myself to remember that day, for I do understand now things that I've been too blind before to see…"

The silver-haired man was silent for a moment, and then spoke thoughtfully.

"Perhaps... I do not forgive myself for succumbing to the same ignorance of that time... We had both talked about the need to think and criticize, to build and envision a better world and the changes that science and the advancement of the social arts could operate positively on the society's profile, opening closed minds and allowing people to see far beyond what was preached as absolute by the leaders who governed them. I regarded myself as a man of vision, unable to be led by such mediocre and silly conjectures, but in the end I became like them; all enslaved by hatred and bloodthirsty for reasons that mattered to each one alone. In the end I wasn't so different from them, and as I succumbed to the darkness and committed the acts I practiced, I corrupted the memories we had, I threw away all the knowledge we learned together and turned into the monster you never imagined I could be capable of becoming."

The woman looked at him sympathetically; her blue-blue eyes flashed with strong emotion.

"People make wrong decisions, my dear... Sometimes they do it for the good, sometimes, unfortunately they do not, but during our conversations we have seen that perfection was a reverse characteristic of the search for knowledge, the search for real learning, to be a better person, and that the pace of this discovery each one should find for himself in life. This is what allows us to grow... This is what makes us human."

He snorted softly and she rolled her eyes.

"You understood what I meant." She patted the empty place beside her and invited. "Come, sit with me."

Reluctantly the vampire accepted and sat down beside her. The long-haired woman gently held both his hands, entwining their fingers, and he observed the two small, modest white ribbons which, imitating the shape of a wedding band, wore their ring fingers just as they had accustomed to do in the past.

"I never blamed them for what they did, not in the past and not now..." she told him softly. "It was not in my power to condemn them, and in the same way I will not condemn you for what you did, though my heart has deeply grieved when I learned of it after recovering my memories."

The woman turned her eyes back to the meadow and continued.

 _"_ Just as each person has their way to go in life and the pace to choose to follow, you have needed these long centuries to come to understand what you needed to learn and change to become a better man. The ashes and debris that have dyed this land in black in the past, nature itself has allowed that wound to heal over the centuries to become today this beautiful flowery garden that lay before us now. Just as this place is the heart of men; when all lessons are learned we finally allow ourselves to start anew through a long process of regeneration that may take years to complete."

She observed him again.

"If even God allowed this place to come back to life after so long, why should you continue to bind yourself to the darkness of that past?"

"Elise..." The silver-haired man began, but the woman shook her head and proceeded steadily.

"Soma, look around you... How many things have not been restored to us? We have a new life, a new chance for both of us and our family. We have everything."

The vampire stared briefly at his son and daughter-in-law seated on an old fallen tree trunk as they spoke with faint smiles on their faces, and then looked back at the young lady who was watching him intently with the same sweet and loving way as she used to do in the past, and for a moment it was as if those terrible centuries had never occurred, just as all the pain, suffering, sadness, hatred and revolt… As if both they were just walking together again in one afternoon after a long day, him accompanying his wife who, with her long golden hair falling like a voluminous cascade on her back, bright blue eyes and radiant countenance filled with light, was as beautiful as the first time he had met her in the court gardens in the past.

"The only one who can allow you to close this chapter in your past so you may move on... It's yourself." Elise told him softly, watching their joined hands and then gazing into his golden eyes. "I am ready to live fully this new life that has been given to us... My dear... Won't you share these new joys with me?"

Soma looked at her gently and tenderly touched the woman's face, pushing away a golden lock of hair that had escaped over her eyes; the vampire bent and joined their lips in a tender, deep kiss, and Elise responded with equal intensity, her hands caressing his silvery hair gently.

When they parted the man stood up slowly, silently watching the meadow, feeling the cool and pleasant breeze touching his face, and took a deep breath, letting the air exhale from his lungs carrying with it all the weight of those ancient memories. And seeing the meadow bloom with abundant life, Soma looked back to her with a gentle smile on his lips and nodding his head in a silent reply, he offered his hand.

"My dear... Let's go home."

Elise smiled and there was a radiant glow in her countenance; rising from the stone she accepted the man's hand and embraced his arm, and they both moved away from the meadow to never return again.

~END~


End file.
